Ice cutting apparatus



April 6, 1965 J. B. Nr-:zzLE

ICE CUTTING APPARATUS Filed April 1o, 196s MwO/.ze ATTORNEYS United States Patent O M 3,176,734 MIE @ll'lf'fiNG APPARATUS Joseph lh. Nezale, 2343 Marengo Drive, Toledo, @hie Filed Apr. 1u, 1963, Ser. No. 271,924 2 Claims. (Cl. 17e-4d) The present invention relates broadly to apparatus for cutting holes in a relatively hard surface, and more par-` ticularly to apparatus for cutting holes in ice. i

A general object of this invention is to provide a nove apparatus of relatively simple and inexpensive construction for cutting holes of sufficient size in ice in preparation for ice fishing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved rotary-type cutting apparatus of the above character including a rotary cutting blade for forming a hole of the desired size through` the ice, and a pilot cutter for initiating the cutting of the hole and for stabilizing the cutting action of the cutting blade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved rotary cutting apparatus of the above character for cutting holes in ice including a shaft on which the cutting blade and the pilot cutter are mounted, in combination with portable means for supportingthe` shaft for simultaneous rotary and axial movement during thecutting operation. p

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be come more apparent during the course of the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same: t

FIG. l is a side elevation of an ice cutting apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. `2 is a View, partially in section, of the cutting assembly;

` FIG. 3 is a horizontal view of the cutting assembly taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2

FIG. 4 is an enlarged end view of the cutting assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main cutting blade of the cutting assembly; A

e FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pilot cutter of theV cutting assembly; and

FIG. 7 is a detail horizontal section of the pilot cutter taken on line 7 7 of FIG. 2.`

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. l, the ice cutting or drilling apparatus of this invention p comprises essentially a supporting framework 1li including a horizontally disposed platform 11 movably supported by caster-type wheels 12 at its forward end and by wheels 13 at its rear end. A suitable source of power, such as a conventiopal gasoline motor 14, is mounted on the platform 11 and is adapted to operate a cutting or drilling assembly generally designated by the numeral 15 mounted on the platform 11. The framework l@ is bodily movable by means of a handle 1o equipped with hand grips 17 and secured to the rear end of the platform 1l. It will be readily appreciated from the following `description that the cuttingassembly can also be easily mounted on any type of conveyance, such as a sled, ski-sled or the like.

Generally stated, the cutting assembly` 15 comprises a vertically disposed shaft 2li to the lower end of which is secured a pilot cutter or boring head 21 and a main cutting blade` 22 which constitute the actual cutting or drilling elements of the cutting assembly. As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 7., the cutter head 21 comprises awedge shaped metal body 22s having triangular shaped opposite side surfaces 24 and arcuately curved end surfaces 2S which converge downwardly to form a sharp edge 26. The side sur faces 24 of the body 23 are provided adjacent to and parallel with the inclined end surfaces 25 with undercut grooves 27 which result in the formation of inclined cutaua'isi Patented Apr. 6, 1965 ting edges 28 at the diagonally disposed corners of the` body. Formed on the top surface of the body 23 is an integral boss 29 provided with a socket 3u for receiving `the lower end portion 31 of the shaft Ztl. Beneath thesocket d@ the body 23 may be internally threaded, as at 32, to receive the extreme threaded end of the shaft 2li.

The cutting blade 22, as viewed in FIGS. 3, `4 and 5, comprises a substantially rectangular metal plate 33 having` arcuately finished end surfaces 34 which flare downwardly and outwardly from the upper surface of the plate. The plate 33 is provided along each side 35 thereof with an angular surface 36 which merges with the undersurface 37 of` the plate to provide an elongated cuttingedge 38. As will be seen in FlG. 3, the cutting edge extends inwardly from one end of the plate along approximately one-half its length, with the cutting edges at opposite sides ofthe plate being diagonally disposed with respect to one another. The sides 35 of the plate 33 beyond the respective cutting edges 3S are located inwardly of said cutting edges to pro.- vide relief or clearance areas to facilitate removal of the ice cut away by the cutting action of the cutting blade during the cutting operation. ln end elevation (FIG. 4), the` cutting blade has a substantially flat central web portion 39 between the downwardly angled surfaces 37. The web portion 39 is provided with an opening 4t) to receive the reduced end portion 31 of the shaft Ztl and is `rigidly secured thereto. For this purpose, the shaft portion 31 is cross-drilled to receive a pin 43,`the opposite ends of which are received in the diametrically opposed notches 41 in the cutting blade when said blade is mounted on the shaft, as in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. As viewed in FIG. 4, the end portion 3l. of the shaft is of reduced diameter to form a shoulder d4 against which the cutting blade 22 abuts.

Thesupporting shaft 2h `is mounted in such a way that it can be moved axially and simultaneously rotated during the cutting of a hole. For these purposes, the shaft is received in a sleeve 44 journaled `in bearings 47 and 48 that are contained within a tubular housing49. The housing is formed at its lower end with an annular flange Sti by which it issecured, as by boltsSll, on the platform 11 and in alignment with an opening 52 therein. The housing is also provided with a bore 53 for receiving the bearings 47 and 48 which arespaced` therein by tubular spacers 54 and 55 and retained by a closure plate Se threaded into the open upper end of the housing. The inner surface of closure plate Se is recessed to receive a bearing washer 57 and a flange 5d integral with the sleeve 4d within the recess.A When the closure plate is positioned within the housing '49, as in FIG. 2, the periphery of the inner surface engages the outer race of bearing 43 to press the same `downwardly against the spacer S4.which, in turn, operates to xedly `seat the bearing 47 on the end wall of the bore 53. Also, the sleeve flange 53 and washer 5,7 are urged against thejour# nal support provided by the innerraces of bearings 47" 46 is fitted with a collar 62 that can befixed thereto, `as

outer internally threaded end portion o5. A ball- `66 located in the chamber 63 is employed to provide a locking connection between the shaft Ztl and sleeve 41. For this purpose, the shaft is formed with a conical recess or socketA 67 while the ball 66 is pressed by spring d8, retained in the chamber by a threaded plug 659, toward the open inner end of said chamber so as to be movable therethrough. t Upon alignment of the socket 67 with l the chamberV 63, theball snaps into the socket 67 thereby temporarily securing or locking the shaft Ztl from reciprocal or sliding movement relative to the sleeve do.

The shaft 2t) is adapted to be manually controlled in its reciprocal movements by a hand knob 70 mounted by a bearing 71 onthe upper end of the shaft. ,As herein disclosed, the knob 7i) is formed with an inner chamber 72 having a wall surface finished to receive the outer race or case ofthe bearing 7l in so-called press-tit association. The inner raceof said bearing is likewise pressafit onto one end of a flanged sleeve 73 that can be secured on the endV of. shaft Ztl by a set screw 7d. This affords a freely rotatable connection between the knob and the shaft to the end that while theshaft is driven at aV relatively high rate of speed, the knob can be manually gripped to simultaneously move the shaft axially relative to the drive sleeve 46.

An important advantage of the cutting apparatus herein provided resides in the fact that the cutter head 2l, as it is moved downwardly onto the ice surface, initiates the cutting action by forming avcounter-sink or conically-srhaped entry Vor pilot cavity in the ice and serves to stabilize the subsequent cutting action of the cutting bladey 22 by maintaining the shaft 20 in a substantially vibrationlessy vertical position of operation. This cavity is indicated by the broken line '75 in FIG. 2 and is subsequently enlarged to a circular opening or hole of substantially largerV size, as indicated by the numeral 76, by the cutting 'edges of the cutting blade.

It has been found that the combined action of the cutter head and cutting blade results in a clean and rapid cutting of the hole and reduces the manual effort involved to force the shaft and Lcutting assembly downwardly and thereby maintain first the cutter head and then the cutting blade in firm, steady contact with the ice during cutting. This results in penetration of the ice layer with a minimum amount of effort and upon completion of the hole cutting operation, the pressure of the water therebeneath causes an upper thrusting action to clear the hole of ice particles. By lifting the knob 70, the shaft can be raised until the locking connection, afforded by the ball 66 and socket 67, secures the shaft in its inoperative position.

In use, the drive sleeve do isoperatively connected to drive -sheave 77 of the motor 14 by a belt 7? and sheave 79 keyed to the VVupper end of said sleeve. Since it is herein contemplated to employ a conventional motor of relatively low power, such as of 21/2 horsepower, the ratio between the sheaves 7 7 and 79 can be easily determined to'provide an adequate amount of operative powerfor the cutting assembly. When the shaft Ztl is raised to its uppermost position, as in FIG. 1, the cutting assembly islocated beneath the platform lll or, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, above the surface on which the ice drilling apparatus is supported. Upon manually gripping the knob 70, the shaft can be moved downwardly to force the ball 66 outwardly of the socket 67 to release the shaft for vertical movement relativeto the ferred embodimentV of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

arf/enea i I claim:

l. An apparatus for use in cutting holes in ice, com

prising a vertical shaft, means for rotating said shaft, a cutting blade and a cutter head carried at the lower end of said shaft, with said cutter head being located beneath said cutting blade in position to initiate the cutting action and being of such size in relation to the cutting blade that the initial opening formed by the cutter head is smaller than the hole formed by the cutting-blade, said cutting blade comprising a substantially rectangular solid plate having a flat upper surface and a longitudinally disposed iiat medial lower surface portion substantially parallel with said flat upper surface, said fiat medial lower surface portion terminating in downwardly and outwardly inclined side marginal surfaces, said rectangular plate having end surfaces that flare downwardly and outwardly from said flat upper surface, the inclined marginal side surfaces extendingtfrom the flat medial lower surface portion having a portion of increased width eX- tending from substantially the transverse axis of the rectangular plate to the adjacent end surfaces and diagonally disposed relative to one another, said yfiat upper surface terminating in downwardly and outwardly inclined side surface portions from substantially the transverse axis of the plate to the adjacent end surfaces and in diagonally disposed relation to one another, the inclined lower marginal side surfaces of increased width and said inclined upper surface side portions being convergently disposed with respect to one another to form elongated cutting edges, the said plate being also provided with elongated flat surface side portions extending from the cutting edges to the opposite end surfaces of the plate and being disposed inwardly of said cutting l edges to provide clearance areas to facilitate removal of tion of the shaft for rotation therewith, and said cutter` head being formedV with means threadedly received on the threaded end portion of the shaft to secure said cutting blade and cutter head on the said shaft.

2. An apparatus for use in cutting holes in ice as defined in claim 1, in which the cutter head comprises a Wedge-shaped body portion having an annular boss as the upper end thereof, said boss beingformed with a socket to receive the reduced end portion of the shaft and internally threaded beneath said socket to receive the threaded end of said shaft, the side surfaces ofthe body portion being substantially flat and parallel with one another, the end surfaces of the body portion being formed in inwardly and downwardly convergent relation to one ano-ther and the diagonally disposed corners formed by the juncture of the side surfaces and the end surfaces having undercut grooves therein to Vform inclined cutting edges to form the initialopening of the hole to be cut in the ice.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 170,445 11/75 Vlldontgorrlely 175-385 1,064,825 6/13 GibSOn 175385 2,709,572 5/55 Agebrn 175-18 2,744,726 5/56 Corneaux 175-195X 2,860,855 11/58 Vincent .175-18 2,933,290 4/60 VRyder 175--394 X 3,093,199 6/63`Y-P1Em0 175--18 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN APPRATUS FOR USE IN CUTTING HOLES IN ICE, COMPRISING A VERTICAL SHAFT, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFT, A CUTTING BLADE AND A CUTTER HEAD CARRIED AT THE LOWER END OF SAID SHAFT, WITH SAID CUTTER HEAD BEING LOCATED BENEATH SAID CUTTING BLADE IN POSITION TO INITIATE THE CUTTING ACTION AND BEING OF SUCH SIZE IN RELATION TO THE CUTTING BLADE THAT THE INITIAL OPENING FORMED BY THE CUTTER HEAD IS SMALLER THAN THE HOLE FORMED BY THE CUTTING BLADE, SAID CUTTING BLADE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR SOLID PLATE HAVING A FLAT UPPER SURFACE AND A LONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED FLAT MEDIAL LOWER SURFACE PORTION SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH SAID FLAT UPPER SURFACE, SAID FLAT MEDIAL LOWER SURFACE PORTION TERMINATING IN DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED SIDE MARGINAL SURFACES, SAID RECTANGULAR PLATE HAVING END SURFACES THAT FLARE DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM SAID FLAT UPPER SURFACE, THE INCLINED MARGINAL SIDE SURFACES EXTENDING FROM THE FLAT MEDIAL LOWER. SURFACE PORTION HAVING A PORTION OF INCREASED WIDTH EXTENDING FROM SUBSTANTIALLY THE TRANSVERSE AXIS OF THE RECTANGULAR PLATE TO THE ADJACENT END SURFACES AND DIAGONALLY DISPOSED RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER, SAID FLAT UPPER SURFACE TERMINATING IN DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED SIDE SURFACE PORTIONS FROM SUBSTANTIALLY THE TRANSVERSE AXIS OF THE PLATE TO THE ADJACENT END SURFACESA AND IN DIAGONALLY DISPOSED RELATION TO ONE ANOTHER, THE INCLINED LOWER MARGINAL SIDE SURFACES OF INCREASED WIDTH AND SAID INCLINED UPPER SURFACE SIDE PORTIONS BEING CONVERGENTLY DISPOSED WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER TO FORM ELONGATED CUTTING EDGES, THE SAID PLATE BEING ALSO PROVIDED WITH ELONGATED FLAT SURFACE SIDE PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE CUTTER EDGES TO THE OPPOSITE END SURFACES OF THE PLATE AND BEING DISPOSED INWARDLY OF SAID CUTTING EDGES TO PROVIDE CLEARANCE AREAS TO FACILITATE REMOVAL OF THE ICE CUT AWAY BY SAID CUTTING EDGES, SAID SHAFT HAVING A LOWER REDUCED END PORTION TERMINATING IN A THREADED PORTION PASSING THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE CENTER OF SAID PLATE, MEANS LOCKING SAID PLATE ON THE REDUCED END PORTION OF THE SHAFT FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, AND SAID CUTTER HEAD BEING FORMED WITH MEANS THREADEDLY RECEIVED ON THE THREADED END PORTION OF THE SHAFT TO SECURE SAID CUTTING BLADE AND CUTTER HEAD ON THE SAID SHAFT. 